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S.S.

English translation: the Honourable Gentleman

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:S.S.
English translation:the Honourable Gentleman
Entered by: Charles Davis

11:30 Sep 22, 2011
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Government / Politics
Spanish term or phrase: S.S.
From a speech by Sagasta to the Spanish Cortes regarding religious freedom (19th century)


Por otra parte, el estado de mi salud no me ha permitido tener el gusto de oír mas que una muy pequeña parte del discurso del Sr. Ríos Rosas, y me encuentro imposibilitado de seguir en él a S.S.


I assume S.S. means "sus señorios" - is the speaker therefore saying "it was impossible to follow the debate with you, my fellow members"?

It also has to be in 1850s style English too, to make it more interesting
William Pairman
Spain
Local time: 22:48
the Honourable Gentleman
Explanation:
It's singular; plural would be "SS.SS." The speaker is referring to Ríos Rosas and saying, basically, that he doesn't agree with what the latter has just said. "En él" means "en su discurso".

In the 1850s, as now, British MPs referred to each other as "Honourable Gentlemen", and I think that would do very nicely here.

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Note added at 1 hr (2011-09-22 12:59:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry, on reading the context more carefully I realise that he is saying he missed most of the speech, so "seguir" probably doesn't mean "agree with"; it probably means "follow". Here's an example of this usage:

"En la práctica se da por aceptado que al hablar en público es vital no sólo conocer el tema, sino elegir la manera óptima de exponerlo. Cuando no se observa esta máxima es muy frecuente que el público desilusionado y aburrido manifieste que, aunque no duda de que el orador sea un experto en la materia, no puede ni quiere seguirle en su discurso."
http://www.ucm.es/BUCM/tesis/inf/ucm-t27126.pdf , p. 7

So I'm still sure that "S.S." is singular and refers to Ríos Rosas and that "él" refers to his speech. "No puedo seguir en él a S.S." is equivalent to "no puedo seguirle en su discurso".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-09-22 13:05:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And by the way, "S.S." is not in itself archaic; Spanish MPs still call each other "Señorías" in the chamber.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2011-09-22 13:34:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The question of capitalisation is debatable. Nineteenth-century parliamentary reports have it with lower case: "He believed the honourable gentleman perfectly understood him. The honourable gentleman had arraigned the late ministry for having abandoned their public professions", etc.
Hansard 1807, http://books.google.es/books?id=LJo9AAAAcAAJ&pg=RA2-PT11&lpg...

Hansard nowadays puts "the hon. Gentleman" and "the right hon. Gentleman" (see http://www.publications.parliament.uk/ ). So it's up to you.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 22:48
Grading comment
Thanks everybody!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2the Honourable Gentleman
Charles Davis
4Your Honour
msimons


Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Your Honour


Explanation:
I believe that judges are addressed as Your Honour.
I would need more information to be certain, but it seems to me the writer is addressing a judge, and if S.S. refers to Su Señoría, the usual translation would be "Your Honour"

msimons
Argentina
Local time: 17:48
Native speaker of: Spanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  AllegroTrans: I doubt whether this involves a Judge
5 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

50 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
the Honourable Gentleman


Explanation:
It's singular; plural would be "SS.SS." The speaker is referring to Ríos Rosas and saying, basically, that he doesn't agree with what the latter has just said. "En él" means "en su discurso".

In the 1850s, as now, British MPs referred to each other as "Honourable Gentlemen", and I think that would do very nicely here.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-09-22 12:59:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry, on reading the context more carefully I realise that he is saying he missed most of the speech, so "seguir" probably doesn't mean "agree with"; it probably means "follow". Here's an example of this usage:

"En la práctica se da por aceptado que al hablar en público es vital no sólo conocer el tema, sino elegir la manera óptima de exponerlo. Cuando no se observa esta máxima es muy frecuente que el público desilusionado y aburrido manifieste que, aunque no duda de que el orador sea un experto en la materia, no puede ni quiere seguirle en su discurso."
http://www.ucm.es/BUCM/tesis/inf/ucm-t27126.pdf , p. 7

So I'm still sure that "S.S." is singular and refers to Ríos Rosas and that "él" refers to his speech. "No puedo seguir en él a S.S." is equivalent to "no puedo seguirle en su discurso".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-09-22 13:05:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And by the way, "S.S." is not in itself archaic; Spanish MPs still call each other "Señorías" in the chamber.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2011-09-22 13:34:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The question of capitalisation is debatable. Nineteenth-century parliamentary reports have it with lower case: "He believed the honourable gentleman perfectly understood him. The honourable gentleman had arraigned the late ministry for having abandoned their public professions", etc.
Hansard 1807, http://books.google.es/books?id=LJo9AAAAcAAJ&pg=RA2-PT11&lpg...

Hansard nowadays puts "the hon. Gentleman" and "the right hon. Gentleman" (see http://www.publications.parliament.uk/ ). So it's up to you.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 22:48
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 276
Grading comment
Thanks everybody!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  FVS (X)
1 hr
  -> Thanks, FVS
agree  AllegroTrans
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, Allegro
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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